With the Writers Guild of America still on strike for the fourth week, just about everyone I know in the production end of the biz, has been laid off. Hollywood has turned into a production wasteland. Assistant directors, camera people, gaffers, grips, make up & hair artists, costumers, prop masters, set construction workers, caterers, production assistants, Teamsters, and anyone involved in day to day television & movie production are out of work right before the holidays. What a slap in the face to those hard working people, some of whom have to live pay check to pay check, that the two sides could not get together to negotiate until this week. Sure, Producers, Directors, and Writers are out of work also but these people make considerably more money then the rest of us. They can afford to take 4 weeks off and play around on a picket line. It seemed like the writers were having a good old time walking the line, while people were in jeopardy of losing their houses and feeding their children. So finally they have got together top talk. In a secret location without giving any details. These negotiators who take themselves way too seriously, reportedly have resumed double secret negotiations somewhere in Hollywood. Can somebody please tell them… HEY YOUR NOT CURING CANCER OVER THERE! GET THIS THING SETTLED!!! LOCK YOURSELVES IN A ROOM, PUT ON SOME COFFEE, GET A MEDIATOR. DO WHAT YOU GOT TO DO! GET IT DONE… THE PEOPLE YOU WORK WITH AND DEPEND ON EVERY DAY, YOUR CREWS, ARE GETTING RESTLESS AND RESENTFUL. WE DON’T THINK THE PICKET LINES ARE FUNNY OR CUTE, WE THINK IT’S STUPID THAT BOTH SIDES OF THIS ARE ACTING LIKE CHILDREN. GET IT DONE!

Meanwhile, Disney’s “Enchanted” captivated audiences over the Thanksgiving holiday, debuting on top of the North American box office with $35.3 million over the weekend and $50 million since debuting Wednesday. Starring Amy Adams as an animated fairy princess who comes to life, is now the second biggest Thanksgiving opener ever, behind “Toy Story 2″, which grossed $80.1 million in a five-day period in 1999. Among other new wide releases, the family dramedy “This Christmas”, starring Loretta Devine, Delroy Lindo and Chris Brown, opened in second place with $18.6 million and $27.1 million since Wednesday, while the video-game adaptation “Hitman”, starring Timothy Olyphant, debuted in fourth with $13 million over the weekend and $21 million since Wednesday. Overall, the box office numbers went up after being in a slump. “”That’s good for an industry that’s been in a downtrend for almost two months,”" Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers told The Associated Press. “”Thanksgiving sets the tone for the rest of the year and the holiday season in general. This was a key weekend, and it delivered.”
So it seems like there are still plenty of millions to go around.

I personally have been able to keep busy. I’ve scratched together a little work, and I’ve been developing some future projects with directors I work with. So I have been out of the Hollywood scene for a few weeks. Here’s what’s been going on.

Hulk Hogan’s wife is divorcing him; Britney is still crazy, but maybe getting her kids for the holidays as long as she doesn’t drive; Kim Kardashian had an expensive amount of jewelry and other items stolen from her bag at JFK airport; Angelina Jolie’s “Beowulf” was the #1 movie last week; Boy George was ordered to stand trial for false imprisonment, he handcuffed his boy toy to a bed and threatened him with sex toys back in April. George, could face life in prison if he’s found guilty; and [tag]Oprah has proven to be more and more stupid every day.

I don’t feel like I missed much, but I’ll keep you posted.
…DEEP!

Technorati Tags: Writers Guild of America, Teamsters, Disney’s “Enchanted”, Thanksgiving, North American box office, Amy Adams, “Toy Story 2″, “This Christmas”, Loretta Devine, Delroy Lindo, Chris Brown, “Hitman”, Timothy Olyphant, Paul Dergarabedian, Media By Numbers, The Associated Press, Hulk Hogan, Britney, Kim Kardashian, JFK airport, Angelina Jolie’s “Beowulf”, was the #1 movie last week; Boy George was ordered to stand trial for false imprisonment, he handcuffed his boy toy to a bed and threatened him with sex toys back in April. George, could face life in prison if he’s found guilty; and [tag]Oprah

Jerry Seinfeld’s “Bee Movie” buzzed to the top of the box office, overtaking last weeks #1, “American Gangster,” starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. The DreamWorks/ Paramount animated comedy flick, packed in family crowds to pull in $26 million, raising its total to $72.2 million, in two weeks.

“Our bee has legs,” said Anne Globe, head of worldwide marketing for DreamWorks Animation. “This weekend really shows that the ‘Bee Movie’ is a must-see show this holiday season.”

For the first time since July 2005, a movie climbed from a lower opening spot to No. 1 at the box office. “Bee Movie,” a silly animated film written and voiced by Seinfeld about a bee that sues the human race for stealing honey. I guess all that shameless promoting and plugging by Seinfeld on every talk show and during every commercial break for every TV show on every network paid off. My God… the movie cost $150 million to make, I imagine the advertising budget is approaching the same. I’m tired of hearing about it, but it does look like it will do good business through the holidays.

“American Gangster,” was a strong No. 2 with $24.3 million in sales, lifting its total to $80.7 million. Last week’s impressive numbers made Ridley Scott’s film, which stars Washington as a 1970s Harlem drug lord and Crowe as the cop trying to take him down, this fall’s top opener so far, and marked the biggest opening for both actors.

Adult audiences had put “American Gangster” ahead on Friday, but weekend matinee crowds lifted “Bee Movie” to the top spot. “Bee Movie” is positioned well for Thanksgiving next week, when children will be out of school. The Warner Bros. family comedy “Fred Claus,” with Vince Vaughn as the black-sheep brother of Santa (Paul Giamatti), opened at No. 3 with $19.2 million. MGM and Tom Cruise’s United Artists released the Robert Redford directed, “Lions for Lambs,” co-starring Cruise, Redford and Meryl Streep in a drama interlocking three stories in the war on terror, premiered at No. 4 with $6.7 million.

So with 2 family movies out and hot as we go into the holidays, the adult themed movies will continue to have to take a backseat at the box office. Look for “Bee” and “Claus” to clean up through the holiday season.
…Totally Deep!

Weekend Box Office

1. “Bee Movie,” $26 million.
2. “American Gangster,” $24.3 million.
3. “Fred Claus,” $19.2 million.
4. “Lions for Lambs,” $6.7 million.
5. “Dan in Real Life,” $5.9 million.

IMDB Box Office Chart

Technorati Tags: Jerry Seinfeld’s “Bee Movie”, “American Gangster, ”, Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, DreamWorks, Paramount, Anne Globe, worldwide marketing for DreamWorks, ‘Bee Movie’, Bee Movie, Seinfeld, Ridley Scott, Washington, Crowe, Thanksgiving, “Fred Claus, ”, Vince Vaughn, Santa, Paul Giamatti, MGM, Tom Cruise, United Artists, Robert Redford, “Lions for Lambs, ”, Meryl Streep, “Dan in Real Life, ”

Ridley Scott’s gritty ’70s drug-dealer epic, “American Gangster,” was number one in last weekends box office tally. Gangster handily out gunned Jerry Seinfeld’s “Bee Movie”, by 7 million dollars, appearing on 1000 less screens. The two movies were successful in breaking the post-summer doldrums and announcing that the winter holiday hits are on the way.

American Gangster hauled in a generous $46 million to take the number one spot on the weekend. Meanwhile, Jerry Seinfeld’s Bee Movie, which weighed in with a hefty budget of $150 million (just $10 million shy of animated budget record holder Shrek The Third), held its own at second place with $39 million, and the promise of long legs through the holidays.

While moviegoers have seemingly been turned off by the endless parade of serious-minded, adult themed movies this fall, “American Gangster” provides the right combination of entertainment and drama. The film tells the real-life story of Harlem drug kingpin Frank Lucas, who ruled the heroin trade in 1970s New York, and the cop who brought him down. The script was adapted by Steven Zaillian from a New York Magazine article by Mark Jacobson. Scott’s very stylized filmmaking, with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe in the leads, this one seems on it’s way to to the awards circuit.

The Bee Movie on the other hand, has been unmercifully promoted and publicized by Jerry Seinfeld in the weeks leading up to it’s release. It should do OK at the box office, but don’t expect many awards. In what seems to be a bit of self indulgence by Seinfeld, the budget and genre seems to tell Hollywood, ‘I’m Jerry Seinfeld… I created one of the most popular TV shows of all time! Don’t you all remember who I AM? I can do anything I want. Even if it’s an animated movie about a bee suing honey companies, with a budget of $150 million, that took 4 years to make… I’m SEINFELD Damn it!
Thank God the movie came out, I was tired of seeing old Jerry on every TV talk show, talking about how he totally micro managed the making of the movie. Now we can all go back to watching him on reruns of Seinfeld, where he is still good. Hopefully the next time he wakes up, it will be worth it.
…DEEP!

Weekend Box Office
1. American Gangster, $46.3 million
2. Bee Movie, $39.1 million
3. Saw IV, $11 million
4. Dan in Real Life, $8.1 million
5. 30 Days of Night, $4 million

Full Box Office Chart at IMDB

American Gangster trailer

Technorati Tags: Ridley Scott, “American Gangster, ”, Jerry Seinfeld’s “Bee Movie”, Shrek, Frank Lucas, Steven Zaillian, New York Magazine, Mark Jacobson, Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Jerry Seinfeld, Hollywood, SEINFELD, Seinfeld, Saw IV, Dan in Real Life, 30 Days of Night, American Gangster trailer

“30 Days of Night”, opening the week before, beat the Halloween horror flick traffic. The Sony fright flick, with Josh Hartnett leading Alaskans against ravenous vampires that turn up for the prolonged winter darkness, debuted as the weekend’s No. 1 movie with $16 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. Audiences continued to choose merriment over misery as the latest crop of sober Academy Awards hopefuls, among them Ben Affleck‘s “Gone Baby Gone,” Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal’s “Rendition” and Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro’s “Things We Lost in the Fire,” debuted with so-so to dismal numbers.

“Fall is the season of the serious movie, and it seems like audiences in a way are resisting the serious movie right now,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. “Audiences are finding their horror or their intensity in real life, and they’re not looking for it in the movies.”

Further proof that movie fans want fun over adversity: A 3-D version of Disney’s Halloween perennial “Tim Burton’s the Nightmare Before Christmas” was No. 8 with $5.1 million and had a better rate of return per-theater than any of the new wide releases.

After a record breaking summer of audiences coming out in droves to see one big blockbuster movie after another, moviegoers are still choosing fun entertainment to spend their money on. Even though the more serious award caliber movies are being released week after week, the audiences are choosing the lighter fare available. From George Clooney to Mark Wahlberg, Ben Afleck, Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Halle Berry, Benicio Del Toro, Cate Blanchett, Sean Penn, Joaquin Phoenix, and other Academy Award veterans who are hopefulls again this year. The audiences so far has decided not to see their movies this year. The feeling is that their films are more serious, adult oriented, real life stories, the audiences opting for more “fun” movies. So mindless entertainment and fantasy movies have been cleaning up at the box office. Evidenced by the last month of box office, ‘The Game Plan” #1 for two weeks in a row, followed by “Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married?”, and last weekend’s c. The movies that headline the major movie stars are falling by the wayside week after week.

What it tells me is that people have enough to deal with in their lives. Working hard, paying bills, the war in Iraq, global warming, terror alerts, fires in Malibu, bad weather, the people want to be entertained. They want to escape, in an over the top fantasy story or comedy. Heavy stories are not the choice right now, people have not decided to see the films of this year yet, they are still going to the movies. One thing I do know however, is that come award time the names The Rock, Josh Hartnett, and Tyler Perry, will not be part of the discussion.

Weekend Box Office
1. “30 Days of Night,” $16 million.
2. “Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married?”, $12.1 million.
3. “The Game Plan,” $8.1 million.
4. “Michael Clayton,” $7.1 million.
5. “Gone Baby Gone,” $6 million

Full Box Office Chart

Technorati Tags: “30 Days of Night”, Halloween, horror flick, Sony, Josh Hartnett, Academy Awards, Ben Affleck, s “Gone Baby Gone, ”, Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, “Rendition”, Halle Berry, Benicio Del Toro, “Things We Lost in the Fire, ”, Media By Numbers, 3-D, Disney, “Tim Burton’s the Nightmare Before Christmas”, George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Cate Blanchett, Sean Penn, Joaquin Phoenix, , ‘The Game Plan”, “Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married?”, , Iraq, global warming, terror alerts, fires in Malibu, “Michael Clayton, ” $

I have to apologize to my avid readers, I’ve been a bit neglectful in my postings recently. Being the Hollywood professional that I am, I’ve been hard at work. Out there in the Hollywood landscape working and getting the inside scoop. The thing is, working so much leaves little time for well thought out writing. Please hang in there with me, there is plenty more to come, very soon. I should be taking a break from working on ABC’s hit show, “Pushing Daisies”, by the end of the week.

In the meantime here is the weekend box office tallies. The Lionsgate release “Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married? With a cast that includes Janet Jackson, Malik Yoba, Jill Scott and writer-director Perry, debuted as the No. 1 weekend movie with $21.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. Tyler Perry’s marital yarn, surprisingly came in well ahead of Academy Award winners, George Clooney’s legal drama “Michael Clayton,” and Cate Blanchett’s historical pageant “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”. Also ahead of Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg’s crime saga “We Own the Night,” which all pulled in modest crowds.

“The Game Plan,” which had been No. 1 the previous two weekends, was neck-and-neck with “Michael Clayton” and “We Own the Night” for second-place. Exact rankings awaited final studio numbers Monday. In the tight race for 2nd and 3rd, Disney reported an $11.5 million haul for “The Game Plan,” Warner Bros. reported $11.01 million for “Michael Clayton” and Sony reported $11 million for “We Own the Night.”

Despite the rush of movies featuring top stars, overall business continued to slide. Revenues were down for the fourth-straight weekend, with the top-12 films taking in $85.5 million, off 14 percent from the same weekend last year, when “The Grudge 2″ and “The Departed” led the box office.

Look for Clonney, Blanchett, Wahlberg and Phoenix in these movies to still be around during the upcoming Academy Awards. While Perry’s movie had it’s moment and will come and go. The big winner continues to be “The Game Plan”. As Disney’s shocker climbs towards the $100 million dollar mark, it is showing long legs through the fall box office season. “The Heartbreak Kid” continues to disappoint in it’s downward slide.
…Going DEEP!

Weekend Box Office
#1 “Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married?” ($21.5 million)
#2 “The Game Plan” ($11.5 million)
#3 “Michael Clayton” ($11 million)
#4 “We Own the Night” ($11 million)
#5 “The Heartbreak Kid” ($7.4 million)

Full Box Office Chart

Technorati Tags: Hollywood, ABC, “Pushing Daisies”, Lionsgate, “Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married?, Janet Jackson, Malik Yoba, Jill Scott, Tyler Perry, Academy Award winners, George Clooney, “Michael Clayton, , Cate Blanchett’, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”, Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, “We Own the Night, ”, “The Game Plan, ”, “The Grudge 2″, “The Departed”, Clonney, Blanchett, Wahlberg, Phoenix, Disney, “The Heartbreak Kid”

“The Game Plan” starring good guy, Duane “The Rock” Johnson, remained the top flick for the second-straight weekend with $16.3 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. “The Heartbreak Kid” pulled in a modest $14 million during opening weekend, coming in at No. 2. Paramount and DreamWorks had expected more from “The Heartbreak Kid,” which reteamed Hollywood’s biggest a**hole Ben Stiller, with Directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly. The trio collaborated on 1998’s smash “There’s Something About Mary.” The studios had gotten positive reaction from audiences at advance screenings, but reviews for “The Heartbreak Kid” came out, and it got panned. The weak weekend take doesn’t bode well for “Heartbreak” to make money, based on its $60 million production budget.

The people decided to see game plan rather then see Stiller in his usual stereotypical neurotic jew role that he plays in every movie. Aside from Stiller being the biggest dou***bag in the business (just ask any crew member who ever worked for him), I could never understand why his movies make money. I never thought he was funny, the only funny he is… is funny looking. He looks like some kind of giant headed monkey boy.

Believe me, I’ve worked very closely with Ben, I got to know him pretty well. He is everything that is bad, selfish, and evil about Hollywood. Some time I’ll tell you all about it. I think this time the audience got it right. There haven’t been many family movies this year, take them to see “The Game Plan”. Screw Stiller, he hates you.

In limited release, George Clooney’s acclaimed legal drama “Michael Clayton” opened strongly with $704,000 in 11 theaters, a promising lead-in for the film’s nationwide release on Friday.

Weekend Box Office
1. “The Game Plan,” $16.3 million.
2. “The Heartbreak Kid,” $14 million.
3. “The Kingdom,” $9.3 million.
4. “Resident Evil: Extinction,” $4.3 million.
5. “The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising,” $3.7 million.

Full Box Office Chart

Technorati Tags: “The Game Plan”, Duane “The Rock” Johnson, “The Heartbreak Kid”, Paramount, DreamWorks, Ben Stiller, Peter and Bobby Farrelly, “There’s Something About Mary.”, Stiller, neurotic jew, George Clooney, “Michael Clayton”, Weekend Box Office, “The Kingdom, ”, “Resident Evil: Extinction, ”, “The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising, ”

“The Rock” was solid at the box office this weekend. Once again, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, proved he can carry a movie and open it big. “The Game Plan”, a surprise No. 1 in theaters this weekend, took in $22.7 million. The Walt Disney Company’s football film exceeded most analysts’ expectations by about $9 million and was Johnson’s second straight No. 1 film. His previous was last year’s “Gridiron Gang”, which opened to $14 million. So “The Rock” in a family football movie formula works, and it works big time. Look for Disney to produce a steady stream of “The Rock” football movies, in the coming years. Like any major movie studio, Disney will run this winning formula into the ground, as long as it’s generating #1 weekends.

It’s funny that “The Rock” was never much of a football player in real life. Dwayne Johnson played for the University of Miami Hurricanes football team in the early 90’s. He was actually part of a Miami National Championship football team in 1991. I followed his football career being an alumni of U Miami, and a big football fan. Johnson was a decent defensive lineman, he had the tools but not the desire to make it the NFL. So he increased his steroid dosage and joined Vince McMahon’s WWF and WWE professional wrestling circus, and he became its champion and a huge star. Now he’s a very bankable movie star, after failing as an action adventure star, he’s found a niche making family movies. The American dream I guess, run off and join the circus and parlay that into becoming a movie star. Say what you want about professional wrestling and Vince McMahon, they have the most loyal fans in the entertainment industry. Every show they put on for the last 50 or so years has gone through the roof. “The Rock” is another example that wrestling fans are alive and well, and not going anywhere. The only drawback for Johnson is that he’s stuck with the stupid nickname “The Rock” for ever. Most people don’t even know who Dwayne Johnson is, and that he’s a movie star. I suppose Dwayne could have worse problems.

“Game Plan” beat out “The Kingdom” starring Jamie Foxx, which met most projections with $17.7 million. The R-rated film, about a terrorist attack on an American base in Saudi Arabia.

I’d always like to open at $50 million, but we’re pleased with the numbers,” says Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal Pictures, which released Kingdom. “This is challenging subject matter, the kind that depends on people telling their friends they should see. And I’m confident they will.”

I worked on “The Kingdom” for a few weeks in Arizona last year. In my short time on the project, I found it to be a first class production, and they spent plenty of money. Director Peter Berg, who I found to be a borderline lunatic, and his production team pretty much had the run of Phoenix Arizona and its surrounding areas, and used it as it’s backlot. They closed down Highways and airports and did what ever they wanted, taking over the city for about 6 months. It was a hard job, dealing with conditions and the scope of the movie, a lot of times everyone involved were not on the same page. The movie got done however, also shooting in the Middle East. Completing the production schedule was a big accomplishment on this one, and the final product is a pretty good movie.

Several films did solid business in limited release. “The Darjeeling Limited” raked in $140,000 on two screens in New York, while “Into the Wild” did $668,000 in 33 theaters for a healthy $20,271 per-theater average. And “Across the Universe”, a musical comprised of Beatles songs, took 10th place with $2.1 million in 339 theaters. As the awards season approaches look for some of these films to take the forefront.
…Going DEEP!

Weekend Box Office
1. The Game Plan $22.7M
2. The Kingdom $17.7M
3. Resident Evil: Extinction $8M
4. Good Luck Chuck $6.3M
5. 3:10 to Yuma $4.16M

View full Weekend Box Office chart

“The Game Plan” movie trailer

Technorati Tags: “The Rock”, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, “The Game Plan”, The Walt Disney Company, “Gridiron Gang”, Disney, University of Miami Hurricanes, Miami National Championship, U Miami, Vince McMahon, WWF, WWE, professional wrestling, “The Kingdom”, Jamie Foxx, R-rated film, Saudi Arabia, Nikki Rocco, Universal Pictures, Arizona, Peter Berg, Phoenix Arizona, “The Darjeeling Limited”, New York, “Into the Wild”, “Across the Universe”, Beatles, “The Game Plan” movie trailer

“Resident Evil: Extinction,” with Milla Jovovich again fighting flesh-hungry zombies in the third installment based on the video game, opened as the No. 1 weekend flick with $24 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. It was the best debut for the franchise, topping the $23 million debut of part two, 2004’s “Resident Evil: Apocalypse.”

Sony Screen Gems hinted there could be more “Resident Evil” movies, though the latest had been billed as the final one.

“Until the next,” joked Rory Bruer, Sony’s head of distribution. “It absolutely would not surprise me considering the success of the franchise that they find a way to come up with another. It’s a real possibility.”

Lionsgate’s “Good Luck Chuck,” with Jessica Alba and Dane Cook in a romantic comedy about a man jinxed at finding true love, debuted in second place with $14 million despite an almost universal thrashing by critics. The previous weekend’s top movie, the Warner Bros. drama “The Brave One,” fell to No. 3 with $7.4 million, raising its total to $25.1 million. Brad Pitt’s “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” and Sean Penn’s “Into the Wild” each opened strongly in limited release. The top five movies all had R ratings, unusual in a movie market generally dominated by PG-13 flicks.

I never saw any of the Resident Evil movies, but Speedy Pete from freevideogamestuff.com tells me the games are cool. I’ll probably wait for cable on this one. It looks pretty cool though, it has a Mad Max kind of feel to it, and Mila a Jovovich is pretty hot.

Weekend Box Office Top 5

1. Resident Evil: Extinction $24M
2. Good Luck Chuck $14M
3. The Brave One $7.42M
4. 3:10 to Yuma $6.35M
5. Eastern Promises $5.75M

Full Box Office Chart

Milla #1

Technorati Tags: “Resident Evil: Extinction, ”, Milla Jovovich, “Resident Evil: Apocalypse.”, Sony Screen Gems, “Resident Evil”, Rory Bruer, Sony, Lionsgate, “Good Luck Chuck, ”, Jessica Alba, Dane Cook, Warner Bros., “The Brave One, ”, Brad Pitt, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”, Sean Penn, “Into the Wild”, R ratings, PG-13, Speedy Pete, freevideogamestuff.com, Mad Max, 3:10 to Yuma, Eastern Promises, Full Box Office Chart

With all that went on this weekend, all the OJ developments and the Emmys, the weekend box office winner was overlooked. Warner Bros. captured the top spot with the vigilante thriller “The Brave One” last weekend grossing $13.5M. Jodie Foster’s film topped the charts bumping last weeks champ “3:10 to Yuma” to the runnerup spot. Billy Bob Thornton’s new comedy “Mr. Woodcock” opened respectably in third while the fantasy actioner “Dragon Wars” bowed to weak results in fourth place. “Superbad” showing long legs, hung in at #5.
“The Brave One” was the first number one hit of the year to be anchored by a woman. It could be followed by another next weekend when Milla Jovovich’s action sequel “Resident Evil: Extinction” attacks.

My favorite Jodie Foster movie is “Taxi Driver”, she was about 15 years old when she did that one, but for me it was still her best. “The Accused” was also very good along with “Silence of the Lambs” and “Contact”, but the rest of her movies kind of sucked. This one looks only OK, a vigilante on the loose fighting crime on the streets, and it’s a woman. “Death Wish” with a chick, I don’t think this one will be around long. Foster has a great reputation as being a top professional film making actress. I expect this movie, if anything is well acted by her and has some quality to it. I don’t think, however, that she always makes good script choices. She constantly seems to want to play these tough girl roles, I think her fans may be a bit tired of them.
It was nice to see “3:10 to YUMA” hang tough though, with a second place showing, losing only about 35% of its audience from last weekend. Might bode well for Brad Pitt’s JESSE JAMES, another Western that is getting good buzz.

To be honest last weekend was tough for the box office, the week after Labor Day. Look for more quality films, critically acclaimed, but not huge box office hits, to be released as the awards get closer.
…DEEP!

Weekend Box Office

1. “The Brave One”, $13.5 million
2. “3:10 to Yuma”, $8.9 million
3. “Mr. Woodcock”, $8.8 million
4. “Superbad”, $5.1 million
5. “Dragon Wars”, $5 million

Full Weekend Box Office click here

“Resident Evil Extinction” Theatrical Trailer

Technorati Tags: OJ, Emmys, Warner Bros., “The Brave One”, Jodie Foster, “3:10 to Yuma”, Billy Bob Thornton, “Mr. Woodcock”, “Dragon Wars”, “Superbad”, Milla Jovovich, “Resident Evil: Extinction”, “Taxi Driver”, “The Accused”, “Silence of the Lambs”, “Contact”, “Death Wish”, “3:10 to YUMA”, Brad Pitt, JESSE JAMES, Labor Day, “Resident Evil Extinction” Theatrical Trailer

With $18 million and a second first-place finish, “Superbad” joined “Pirates” and “Spidey” as the only three movies to win back-to-back weekends this summer. With a new total of nearly $70 million dollars, the flick will soon join über-producer Judd Apatow’s “40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up” as certified $100 million hits.

Holding strong in its fourth week, meanwhile, was “The Bourne Ultimatum,” in second place with a hefty $12.4 million. Not only is the film the highest grossing in the popular series, it’s a sure bet to cross $200 million by next weekend — around the same time, incidentally, that “Ratatouille” will cross the magical line as well. How’s this for record breaking? “Bourne” and “Ratatouille” will be the sixth and seventh films of the summer to hit that mark. With four movies smashing their way past $300 million and three more on their way to scoring $200 million-plus, the summer box office climbed over $4 billion dollars for the first time in history, breaking the all-time record of $3.95 billion set in 2004. It helps, of course, when you have a “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie, a “Spider-Man” flick, and a “Shrek” extravaganza to start off the season (all opened within three weeks of each other in May), but equally important, it seems, is who’s bringing up the rear.

While the disappointing “Rush Hour 3″ takes third place with $12.3 million (it’ll wind up earning about half as much as “Rush Hour 2″), the surprising “Mr. Bean’s Holiday” soared to a fourth-place finish of $10.1 million. While that total is impressive considering the film has no major stars or big action hooks, it further illustrates how out of step America sometimes is with the rest of the world. “Mr. Bean’s Holiday” has already racked up nearly $200 million worldwide.

The “Apatow way” (KNOCKED UP, SUPERBAD) seems to be the best way to go, which is to actually write FUNNY movies, and have funny people star in them on a low budget, as opposed to “star” names and big budgets which sometimes don’t really work out all that well (EVAN ALMIGHTY, STARDUST, THE INVASION). SUPERBAD continued its dominance at the box-office this past weekend, despite the arrival of 6 new movies (3 of which didn’t even crack the top 10: SEPTEMBER DAWN, ILLEGAL TENDER and RESURRECTING THE CHAMP).

It has proved to be an amazing summer for movie box office. More then ever before, in record breaking numbers, the people have flocked to movie theaters. With all the mediums available today, the internet, cell phone viewing, pay per view, and home delivered DVDs, the event of going to the movies in the summer, remains king. Just when we all thought “the night out at the movies”, kicked ass this summer, and the film industry is alive and well, as the summer season comes to a close.
…DEEP!

“Mr. Bean’s Holiday”, a surprise at #4 in North America, and killing worldwide

The Box Office Top Five

#1 “Superbad” ($18 million)
#2 “The Bourne Ultimatum” ($12.4 million)
#3 “Rush Hour 3″ ($12.3 million)
#4 “Mr. Bean’s Holiday” ($10.1 million)
#5 “War” ($10 million)

Full Box Office Chart

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